This delicious Asian Garlic Tofu recipe is so simple yet incredibly flavorful! It's restaurant-style quality but made easy right at home. Serve it with rice, quinoa, noodles, or your favorite Asian-style dishes. (Vegan, gluten-free option.)
Let's make saucy, delicious Asian Garlic Tofu! It's so simple yet incredibly flavorful and one of my all-time favorite tofu dishes. It feels like restaurant-style quality, but made easy right at home.
We toss tofu cubes in a sticky sweet sauce that's made with hoisin, garlic, tamari, and optional ginger. If you're not familiar with hoisin sauce, it's like a thick, flavorful Asian-style BBQ sauce. (Yum!) The flavor and texture is perfect for an easy marinade like this one.
Best of all, this dish comes together in 30 minutes! It's great paired with rice, quinoa, noodles, veggies, or your Asian-style bowls for some plant-based protein.
Ingredients for Asian Garlic Tofu
For this recipe you'll need:
- Extra-firm tofu: I purchase organic tofu whenever possible.
- Green onion (scallion): We'll add 4 green onions to the dish towards the end of cooking time. These add a delicious, mild onion flavor and they accent the sauce really well.
- Toasted sesame oil
- Hoisin sauce: This is a thick, richly flavorful sauce that's sweet and salty. The main ingredient is usually fermented soybean paste along with other flavors and spices. Be sure to seek out a gluten-free version if needed. (Most of the time I use "San-J" brand gluten-free hoisin sauce.)
- Tamari: Or you can substitute soy sauce, but I use tamari for gluten-free. Be sure to use low sodium if desired. Coconut aminos could also work.
- Fresh garlic cloves: You'll need 2-3 cloves for this recipe.
- Freshly grated ginger: This is optional, but recommended! I love including it for more warmth and flavor.
Tips
Pressing the tofu: Before marinating, we'll remove excess liquid from the block of tofu. (This allows the tofu to better soak up the flavor of the marinade.) To do this, either lightly press between towels, or use a tofu press if you have one.
Marinating: After tossing the tofu in the garlic sauce, we'll let it marinate for about 10 minutes. This gives the flavors a chance to absorb into the tofu and intensify. (No problem if you don't have time to marinate, however. It'll still taste great.) Or if you prefer to marinate longer, just store it in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple hours or even overnight. This could make the end result less saucy however as the sauce absorbs more.
Customizing
Sauce flavors: Stir in rice vinegar or even pure maple syrup for a touch of added sweetness.
Make it spicy: Sprinkle red chili pepper flakes, chili paste, or sriracha hot sauce to taste before serving.
Serving
I like serving this saucy tofu with cooked rice and broccoli for an easy dinner. It's also fantastic paired with stir-fries, fried rice, or other Asian-inspired meals. Garnish it with sesame seeds before serving if you'd like!
Storing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I find it keeps well for about 3 days. Simply reheat in the microwave when ready to enjoy.
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan tofu recipes or Asian-inspired recipes.
Asian Garlic Tofu (Easy!)
Ingredients
- 14 oz. extra-firm tofu (pressed*)
- 4 green onions
- 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
For the garlic sauce:
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce**
- 2 Tbsp. tamari (or soy sauce)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger (optional)
Instructions
- Make the sauce: Add all garlic sauce ingredients to a bowl or shallow dish. Stir to combine.
- Prepare tofu: Cut the pressed tofu into bite-sized cubes. (I cut mine about 3/4-inch, but you can cut yours smaller or even tear them if desired.) Then add the tofu cubes to the sauce. Gently toss until thoroughly coated. Set aside and let it marinate for about 10 minutes.
- Cook: In a large skillet, heat the toasted sesame oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, carefully add the marinated tofu (with all remaining sauce). Spread out the cubes in a single layer. Simmer and cook without stirring for 5-6 minutes or until lightly seared on one side.
- Add green onions: Meanwhile, slice the green onions. After the tofu cooks for 5-6 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low. Add the green onions. Then stir the cubes and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until desired texture is achieved.
- Serve: It's great served warm over rice (or quinoa or noodles) with steamed broccoli or other veggies on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds or red pepper flakes for a little spice.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
If you're enjoying this Asian Garlic Tofu recipe, also check out:
- Easy Baked Tofu
- Teriyaki Baked Tofu
- Broccoli with Asian-Style Garlic Sauce
- Tofu Salad with Savory Dressing
- Hoisin Peanut Noodles
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Jennifer says
This was wonderfully flavoured! I ended up marinating the tofu overnight, and it was fantastic. I served it with rice and steamed broccoli for a simple weeknight dinner. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Kaitlin says
Excellent to hear you enjoyed it, Jennifer! Rice, broccoli, and tofu - perfect simplicity. Thanks for sharing!
Elaine says
Easy and yummy! It's a keeper.
Kaitlin says
Great to hear - thank you!
Amy says
This was great. Added red pepper flakes for some zing!
Kaitlin says
Great call, Amy! Glad you enjoyed it.
Fayth Goddard says
Made this tonight and it was a big hit! I added broccoli and carrots which I stir fried in the sauce on the side. My meat-eating fiancée loved it too! Thanks for a great recipe.
Kaitlin says
That sounds fantastic! Wonderful additions!
Rachna says
Hi there, I made this for lunch today and it turned out amazing! I did not expect tofu to have as much flavor as it did. I marinated it overnight and served it with a simple fried rice. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Kaitlin says
That's great! Love the fried rice pairing!
Aura Lemoine says
Amazingly delicious! This was my first time cooking with tofu, and I'm so grateful I did it with this recipe. My husband loved it... actually, my whole family loved it. I found a recipe for a homemade hoisin sauce and it was so good! This is a keeper. Thank you, Kaitlin, for sharing this recipe.
Kaitlin says
That's awesome to hear your family enjoyed it, Aura! Great job on your first time cooking tofu. (And using a homemade hoisin - awesome!) Thanks a lot for sharing!
Nona Suomy says
So good. I added some finely chopped jalapeños to the mixture and used 1 tbsp. of tamari and 1/2 tsp. of Liquid Amino Acids and oh man. Definitely making this again!
Kaitlin says
That's so great! What a fun idea adding jalapeños and amino acids. Thanks for sharing your helpful feedback!
Marijke Pieters-Kwiers says
I tried this recipe, but I used rice noodles instead of rice and it was AMAZING!
Kaitlin says
Great idea! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Dan Umbenhaur says
I just made this for lunch. I doubled the recipe and let the tofu sit in the marinade for about 2 hours. Because of this, there was no extra sauce; only my wife wanted it to be more saucy. VERY easy to make and super delicious. Thanks!
Kaitlin says
Awesome. Thanks for sharing, Dan! The longer the tofu sits, the more marinade it will soak up which causes it to be less saucy. So glad you enjoyed it, however!
SKCranePhotography says
This is one of my all time favorite tofu recipes!! So good!!
Kaitlin says
Really great to hear!
Shirly F says
Easy and tasty, just made this for my family, it was a hit! Thank you!
Kaitlin says
Wonderful to hear you all enjoyed it, Shirly!